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What Makes a Sexy Name?

Mar 26th 2010

ANG/Fame Pictures: Angelina Jolie, filming a new movie in Paris, a very sexy city

What is the sexiest name you can think of? Is a sexy name inextricably linked to a sexy person? Can a sexy person have a decidedly unsexy name? And on the flip side, can an unsexy person have a super sexy appellation? These are the thoughts on our mind as March nears its end and spring fever kicks in.

To help kick-start our thoughts, here are some names that strike us as sexy -- contenders for Sexiest Name. These names come from actors and actors of today and yesterday. They are deliberately not in chronological order, as a little test. Can you tell which names come from days past? Here's why we ask -- we're wondering if name-sexiness is a non-changing standard, a classic, or if sexy standards change from decade to decade, year to year, or even day to day.

What do you think -- can you separate the name out from your mind's eye image of the performer? Is it obvious which names belong to which era? Who did we forget? Check out Baby Name Wizard's Name Finder to discover more names and see which ones -- celeb and non-celeb -- strike you as sexy.

Tells us your top three contenders for Sexiest Name. Clint Eastwood and Sophia Loren are catching our eye at the moment as solid, strong and sexy.

I agree there is a time element involved in these people/names. As far as people, I think sexy=Sophia Loren, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Clark Gable, Eriq LaSalle, Daniel Day-lewis, Denzel Washington. There are people from the recent past that are not so much in the spotlight these days that just seem like regular people anymore to me-Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and others. However, a sexy NAME is not the same. The NAMES I would choose would be:
Sophia Loren, Isabella Rosellini, Farrah Fawcett, Penelope Cruz, and Sidney Poitier, Spencer Tracy. For women it's the European flair for men I think it's the unexpected. I think I would also add Julianna Margulies, and Goldie Hawn for sexy names. And although George Clooney is the sexiest man in my book, his name is decidedly not.

It is an interesting premise. Separating the people from the names- names of people on the list that are decidedly not sexy when you think of the name: Cary (sort of feminine sounding, if not in spelling), Jack (boring), Warren (old guy), Ralph (old guy), Gary (old guy), Johnny or John (boring), Spike (criminal), Mickey (Mouse), Bruce (just ugly), Elvis (is there another association than Presley? Makes me think of the end of his career, not the beginning), Steve (boring). Interestingly, there are far more sexy sounding female names when you take the first names out of context with the last name. The exceptions: Marlee, Piper, Ann-Margret, Claudette, Marlene, Sigourney and Bette (which I think is a sexy spelling, but a decidedly un-sexy pronunciation). But that's just me.

I've always had a weakness for "Desdemona," for no particular reason that I can think of. But there are some broader thoughts I might share on the subject:

First, a sexy name might be one that's just pleasant to say, requiring the speaker to use a lot of sexy sounds to say it, like V's, L's, or R's. "Vivian," for example, might work since it uses multiple, sexy "V" sounds, and has an element of class to boot.

Also, I concur with "the unexpected" as being a turn-on for guys. I'd clarify it, though, saying that it helps if a name sounds like there's a

story

behind it.

The above, "Desdemona," for example, takes more explaining than just "Mona," and sounds pleasant enough that the story might be enjoyable to hear, or to tell. And that's something that we men are always grateful for: a good, tasteful icebreaker.

And it also helps if, through whatever combination of alliteration, sexy sounds, cadence, and/or rhyme, a name has the "dramatic" quality of propelling you through to the end with panache.

Names that I might suggest, both real and fictional:
VIVIEN LEIGH - Classy opener (see above), and an approachable, down-to-earth close, spelled just right to balance the two qualites.

LILLIAN GISH- Iniitally and smoothly alliterative, delicate and feminine, with a close that sounds faintly orgasmic.

ALICIA KEYS - Just enough rhyme & alliteration to keep you focused (the repeated "e" sound), with a bouncing cadence, and varying consonants, propelling you into a sharply defined last syllable, with a sultry "Z" sound at the end.

INDIANA JONES - This would have been a great name for a man OR a woman: a real rarity. The first name not only contains oodles of appealing sounds, but practically holds your breath, to be released in the surname with all the drama you can muster.

RITA MORENO - Alliterative r's, but not enough to overdue it, and a cadence that sounds fun and lively, balanced by soft, sexy consonants.

SELINA KYLE (aka Catwoman) - Like Alicia, simply bounces you into the dramatic last syllable, starting with "K." Benefits from an exotic opener....and a whip.

MARION RAVENWOOD - WOW! No wonder this movie was so popular: the leads are named gorgeously! Marion's name evokes adventure an mystery (a little bit of Robin Hood, in particular), and is loaded with sexy sounds and an evenly matching, 3-beat cadence in both names, accented in the middle.

ROGER MOORE - Sounds almost French, the way the alliterative r's, and the accent on the last two syllables, virtually slide into a pleasant spot. And yet it doesn't sound pretentious, using common, English-language names.

Ad as for UNsexy names, the Germanics fare badly: I think we can right off "Gunther," "Hildegard," or "Torvald." And for the worst of all time, I can top ol' Engelbert: DINGEN VAN DER PLATZ, the woman who invented starching.